Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is seen at his Burlington office in November. / FREE PRESS FILE

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| Raju Chebium

Gannett Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — A measure Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced Thursday would tax carbon emissions and use 60 percent of that money to send monthly rebate checks to people to make up for the expected spike in their utility bills.

The Vermont independent’s proposal is co-sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat who heads the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Sanders is a member of that panel.

Climate change is a serious problem that requires dramatic action now, Sanders said at a Capitol Hill news conference, flanked by Boxer and environmental groups.

“The issue we’re dealing with today is not political,” he said. “What we are dealing with today is physics.”

Sanders acknowledged that he doesn’t have Republican support.

“We’ll worry about that later,” he said.

Boxer wants to schedule hearings on the bill in the spring. That gives the two lawmakers a few months to round up support for the bill, which is sure to be opposed by congressional Republicans and industry groups. It has a slim-to-none chance of passing the bitterly divided Congress.

In his first State of the Union speech after winning reelection, President Barack Obama urged Congress on Tuesday to do more to combat climate change. If not, Obama said he’ll issue executive orders to cut pollution and increase the use of renewable energy.

Environmental groups are planning a rally Sunday on the National Mall to push for action on climate change.